Dave The Diver

This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER in Dave The Diver. The data is drawn from direct measurement of the specified configuration, providing a clear picture of how this hardware combination handles the game across resolutions and settings. The results show a system that is generally capable of high frame rates, with the limiting factor shifting between the CPU and GPU depending on the resolution and quality preset selected.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a distinct pattern as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 215.7 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 111.2 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 48.4% reduction in performance when moving from 1080p to 4K on the Low preset. The scaling is similar on High settings, where the average falls from 158.7 FPS at 1080p to 83.4 FPS at 4K, a 47.5% decrease.

The data indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU is the primary constraint. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 215.7 FPS, but the frame rate does not scale linearly with the reduction in pixel count when compared to 1440p. The jump from 1080p to 1440p on Low settings only drops the average from 215.7 FPS to 163.4 FPS, a 24.2% reduction. This is less than the proportional increase in pixel count, suggesting the CPU is nearing its limit at 1080p and cannot push much beyond the 215 FPS mark.

At 4K, the situation reverses. The GPU becomes the bottleneck, as evidenced by the more significant frame rate drops when moving from 1440p to 2160p. On High settings, the average falls from 120.3 FPS at 1440p to 83.4 FPS at 4K, a 30.7% reduction. This is a steeper decline than the 1080p-to-1440p transition, which only saw a 24.2% drop. The pattern holds across all presets, with the 4K Ultra setting producing just 69.6 FPS, the lowest measured result in the entire set.

The scaling behavior indicates that this combo is well-balanced for 1440p gaming, where the CPU and GPU can both contribute effectively. At 1080p, the system leaves performance on the table because the CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough, while at 4K, the GPU's limits become apparent, particularly on the Ultra preset where the average dips below 70 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested configurations, this CPU and GPU pairing achieves a combo rank of 990 out of 1626 combinations for Dave The Diver. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems, meaning that while it performs adequately, a majority of other hardware combinations produce higher average frame rates in this title.

The ranking reflects the hardware's overall capabilities. The RTX 2070 SUPER sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, while the i3-12100F ranks at the 72nd percentile among all CPUs. However, the combo's rank in this specific game suggests that Dave The Diver is somewhat more demanding on the GPU side, or that the CPU's 4-core, 8-thread configuration limits performance in certain scenarios.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the NVIDIA RTX A400, which scores 0.5% higher, and the GTX TITAN Z, which scores 0.9% lower. This places the RTX 2070 SUPER in a competitive position against older flagship cards. The CPU, meanwhile, is within 1.8% of the Intel Core i7-7700K's average score, indicating that the modern i3 holds its own against a previous-generation top-tier processor. The low combo rank is therefore not a reflection of weak individual components, but rather the specific demands of Dave The Diver interacting with this particular pairing.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 4K resolution, the data shows that the Ultra preset is the most demanding, producing an average of 69.6 FPS. This is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The High preset at 4K yields 83.4 FPS, which is a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The Medium preset pushes the average to 89.1 FPS, while Low reaches 111.2 FPS. Given that the visual difference between High and Ultra is often less noticeable in an adventure title like this, the High preset at 4K appears to be the sweet spot for a balance of quality and smoothness.

At 1440p, all presets deliver above 100 FPS. The Ultra setting averages 105.7 FPS, which is already quite smooth. However, the Medium preset at 136.4 FPS and High at 120.3 FPS offer additional margin for high-refresh-rate displays. The Low preset at 163.4 FPS is the only option that approaches 165 Hz territory, but the visual trade-off may not be worth it for most users.

For 1080p, every preset exceeds 140 FPS. The Ultra setting at 143.2 FPS is sufficient for most displays, while the High preset at 158.7 FPS and Medium at 178.9 FPS provide ample headroom. The Low preset at 215.7 FPS is the only measured result that can fully saturate a 240 Hz panel, but this comes at a significant graphical cost. The recommendation is to use High settings at 1080p for an optimal balance, as the difference between High and Ultra is minimal in terms of frame rate but the quality improvement is worthwhile.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate measured for this combo?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 215.7 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Dave The Diver?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K, the Ultra preset averages 69.6 FPS, which is playable. The High preset at 83.4 FPS offers a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 990th out of 1626 tested combinations for Dave The Diver, placing it in the lower-middle tier of all systems tested.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K on High settings?

A: On High settings, the average frame rate drops from 158.7 FPS at 1080p to 83.4 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 47.5%.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the system appears well-balanced. The frame rates scale predictably between 1080p and 4K, indicating neither component is severely bottlenecked at this resolution.

Q: What is the lowest measured average frame rate?

A: The lowest measured average is 69.6 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, with 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. These specifications place the card at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22206.

In Dave The Diver, the GPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolution rises. At 4K, the frame rate drops significantly compared to 1440p, indicating that the card's raw throughput and memory bandwidth are being taxed. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for this title, as the game does not appear to exceed this limit even at 4K Ultra, where the average frame rate remains above 69 FPS. The card's FP32 performance of 9.062 TFLOPS contributes to its ability to handle the game's rendering load, though the results show that the Ultra preset at 4K pushes the GPU to its limits.

The RTX 2070 SUPER's nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A400, scores 0.5% higher in average benchmarks, while the GTX TITAN Z scores 0.9% lower. This indicates that the card performs consistently with other high-end options from its generation. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and 40 RT cores are not heavily utilized in this adventure title, which is not graphically demanding in terms of ray tracing, but the card's traditional rasterization performance is what drives the measured results.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with 12 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, though the measured system's memory configuration is not specified. The CPU has a TDP of 58 W and is rated at the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13516.

The CPU's role in Dave The Diver is most apparent at 1080p resolution, where frame rates plateau around 215 FPS on Low settings. This suggests that the 4-core/8-thread configuration reaches its limit in this game when the GPU is not the primary constraint. The processor's multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11912, is adequate for the game's demands, but the single-thread performance, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681, is what drives the high frame rates at lower resolutions.

The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-7700K, scores 1.8% lower in average benchmarks, indicating that the modern i3 performs comparably to a previous-generation flagship. The i3-12100F's boost clock of 4.30 GHz and single-thread capabilities allow it to handle the game's logic and draw calls efficiently, but the frame rate ceiling at 1080p suggests that more cores or higher clock speeds would be needed to push beyond the 215 FPS mark. At higher resolutions, the CPU's role diminishes, as the GPU becomes the limiting factor and the processor's performance is sufficient to keep up with the reduced frame rates.